Jools Holland - Barrow Hill Roundhouse

The Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society Magazine
Jools Holland
at the Roundhouse
See page 10
Summer 2014 Price £2.50
Issue
45
Vulcan - a loco comes
back to life
See page 15
“Barrow Hill Live!”
Preview
See page 11
Plus more
photos and
stories inside...
including Rail Ale 2014 &
Roundhouse Open Days
See page 9 / 10
Top: 1704 Nunlow will be visiting the Roundhouse for the first time in September and will be in action at
“Barrow Hill Live!” Photo: John Hillier
Bottom: The hard work of the volunteers is shown off to great effect in this shot of the newly overhauled
Barrow Hill wagon. Photo: Dave Darwin
Opening Shot...
Vulcan hauls a passenger train service back
down the Springwell Branch during the
Roundhouse Open Days in June
Photo: Alexa Stott
CONTENTS
Chairman’s Chinwag
Headline News & Newslines
4
5
- Fuelling Point
- Arrivals & Departures
- NewRail Testing
- VSOE Pays a Visit
- Colas 60 at the Roundhouse
- Bradford Railway Circle Visit
Events Update
9
- Rail Ale 2014
- Roundhouse Open Days
- Jools Holland
- “Barrow Hill Live!”
The Vulcan Story
15
Dave Darwin Remembers
23
Butler Henderson Star of the Silver Screen 25
The Archives
26
The Baby Deltic Project
27
DPS Report
30
Volunteers Report
31
Money Matters
32
Volunteer Liaison Officer’s Report
34
Historical Corner 36
Naturewatch38
On Sunday 6th April an event with a difference took
place at the Roundhouse. The Chesterfield Branch
of the MG Owners Club used our large car park
as a venue for a gathering of MG car owners and
their friends. Some of the cars were lined up next to
front cover: Vulcan hauling passenger trains
at the Roundhouse Open Days in June 2014, seen
from an unusual angle. Photo: Alexa Stott
Have you got a memory
of barrow Hill in
steam or diesel days?
From the Manager
Welcome to the second
Newsletter of 2014.
Do you have photographs of the
depot which we could use in future
issues of the Newsletter?
I am very pleased to report that we have
had another fantastic year so far and all the
diverse areas of the site have grown and
have been successful.
Please get in touch with Alexa Stott
by post: Barrow Hill Roundhouse,
Campbell Drive, Barrow Hill,
Chesterfield, Derbyshire S43 2PR.
Or email: [email protected]
And now for something very different….
To develop the Roundhouse’s reputation
as a venue for all and for all types of events
we are very pleased to announce that the
Designed and printed by
design
Tel: 01777 860579
print
web
signs
www.burgessdesignandprint.com
2
Classic Car
Rally at the
Roundhouse
resident steam loco Blue
Peter in the Bay Platform
for a photograph.
Photo: Mervyn Allcock
world famous pianist and entertainer Jools
Holland, along with his Rythym & Blues
Orchestra and special guest Melanie C, will
be performing for one night only at the
Roundhouse on Saturday 13th September.
This will certainly add another string to our
bow. Please tell all your friends about this
concert to ensure that it is a sell out. This
will hopefully be the precursor to many
more events of a similar nature.
their magazine BRM and website RMWeb
certainly will be, as will the other model
railway shows they organise – London,
Doncaster and Peterborough. We are very
proud that Warners want to be involved in
this event and it proves that once again the
Roundhouse has come up with an idea that
is attractive to lots of people.
As always, thank you for all your support
and here’s to a successful conclusion to
2014
We are also looking forward to our first
“Barrow Hill Live!” in association with our
new partner Warners Events. Although
this name may not be familiar to you,
Mervyn Allcock
August 2014
3
chairman’s chinwag
have referred to before. We are hoping
to attract a grant of approximately £1m
to improve our facilities and to extend
the range of our activities, so that we
are attractive to new visitors, particularly
families and young people. The application
process in is two stages. Round 1, which
involved a lot of hard work by the Barrow
Hill team and particularly our consultant
Anita Hollinshead, was submitted in May,
and it will be two or three months before
we know whether we have been successful.
If we are we shall have to submit a much
more detailed application in 2015, so that if
we pass that hurdle it will be 2016 before
the work can start on site. A long and hard
process, but not unreasonable if we want
to access £1m of public money, and the
results will make it all worthwhile.
When I first started writing
these pieces for the Newsletter,
I wondered whether I would
sometimes struggle to find things
to say. I need not have worried,
there is always something
happening at Barrow Hill.
Just after the last Newsletter was published
we had another successful Rail Ale Festival.
There is more detail elsewhere in this
edition, so all I shall say is that it was great
event, now taking place over three days
with the addition of Thursday evening.
Great beers, great entertainment, good
crowds with no trouble and a nice little
earner for the Society. My thanks go to
all those involved in the pre-planning, and
the actual running over the weekend. Hard
work I know but worth it.
Another submission made in June was our
Accreditation return to retain our status
as an Accredited Museum. This is a useful
accolade in its own right and also ensures
access to other grants to keep improving
the museum. Again it involved a lot of hard
work, particularly by the Archive team,
which pulled out all the stops to work
through the backlog of documenting the
collection. Again it will be some months
before we find out the result of our
application.
One of the things that makes the Rail Ale
Festivals so special is that whilst the event
attracts existing Barrow Hill members,
(funny how appreciation of railways goes
hand in hand with appreciation of beer),
it also brings new visitors to Barrow Hill,
some of whom may have known very little
about us before they came. What we hope
is that they will come back and not just for
the beer, because that is what we are trying
to do, grow our visitor base. This is partly
because we want to ensure that we can
keep generating income from our events
to make the site better and better, but also
because we want to educate and inform
non-rail enthusiasts.
One of the things that we are required to
do as an Accredited Museum is to have a
properly documented procedure for all
volunteers, telling them what the Museum
requires from them, and what they can
expect from management. We have drafted
a Volunteer Agreement which sets all this
out and will be introducing it to volunteers
Our desire to attract new non-rail
enthusiasts is the basis of our Heritage
Lottery Fund grant application, which I
4
HEADLINE NEWS
1000 on long term loan from the National
Railway Museum. The locomotive had
previously been at the Bo’Ness & Kinneil
Railway and came down to Derby for
Bombardier’s staff open day in celebration
of 175 years of railway engineering in the
city. Some of the Roundhouse team helped
with the cleaning of the locomotive at the
event before it moved to Barrow Hill. As
an LMS loco it will form an important part
of the Roundhouse’s planned celebrations
in Autumn 2015 of 50 years since the end
of steam at Barrow Hill.
Fuelling Point
The fuelling point has now been craned
into position and we are just waiting for
the environmental protection to be put
in place. This is an important addition to
the potential commercial activity of the
site and we have already had interest from
several main line train operators.
Arrival and Departures
Shortly after Rail Ale, the Roundhouse
proudly welcomed Midland Compound
The Barrow Hill team at Bombardier with Midland Compound 1000.
Read more about the history of the Midland Compound in Dave Darwin’s piece on page 24.
in small groups starting in the next month
or so.
Talking of views we would welcome your
contributions to the Newsletter, either
letters commenting on anything in it or an
article on your experiences or views as a
railway enthusiast. There must be lots of
good stories or thoughts out there and we
would love to hear them and publish them
On the subject of Accreditation, may I
thank those of you that took the trouble
to respond to my request in the last
Newsletter to give me your comments
on the Aims and Objectives that were
included in our Forward Plan. This is
your Society and we need your views.
Mike Kennedy
5
HEADLINE NEWS
continued...
At the end of April, we said goodbye to
Atlantic 251. This has been a popular
exhibit at Barrow Hill and an important part
of several of our big events. It was here far
longer than we had originally anticipated and
we were very sad to see it go. However,
visitors to Shildon will now also be able to
enjoy this very handsome locomotive.
VSOE pays a visit
The VSOE has once again used the
Barrow Hill site for servicing during rail
tours to Chesterfield for Chatsworth
and Nottingham for the Trent Bridge Test
Match.
29th April sees 251 on a lowloader prior to its
move to Shildon. Photo: Dale Holford
NewRail Testing
NewRail is currently undertaking the DeRail Project at Barrow Hill. This project
captures and inspects images of defective
wheel sets as they pass a particular
point on the rail head. The system can
be seen adjacent to the Signal Box. The
ultimate aim is to produce a system that
will prevent derailments. In a sign of the
growing importance of the site not just
nationally but internationally, this project
is a partnership between NewRail, Barrow
Hill and the European rail test facility at
Vilem, near Prague in the Czech Republic.
The monitoring unit being
installed by the NewRail team.
Photo: Dave Darwin
6
newslines
Bradford Railway Circle
Visit
Class 67 006 brings the VSOE
stock into Barrow Hill for
servicing on 30th April.
Photo: Dale Holford
On 8th June Barrow Hill Roundhouse
welcomed 13 railway enthusiasts from
the Huddersfield Railway Circle led by
their secretary Mike Smith. Thirteen was
certainly not an unlucky number as they
arrived just in time to see Class 56 56312
Jeremiah Dixon owned by DCR arrive at the
Colas Class 60 at the
Roundhouse
A newly refurbished Colas Class 60
recently visited Barrow Hill to collect
Class 86 Electric 86701. The consist then
headed to Rugby to undertake further
commercial work.
Members of the Bradford Railway Circle
in the right place at the right time to
get their shots of the Class 56.
Photo: Dale Holford
7
newslines
continued...
Members of the Bradford Railway Circle
group pose in the sunshine with Blue Peter.
Photo: Dale Holford
The locos were at Barrow Hill for routine
examinations and made a good sight all
stood in one row.
Roundhouse. It had been summoned to
haul A1 60163 Tornado across to Crewe
because Network Rail would not allow the
A1 to travel tender first down to Derby.
Dale Holford
Several photos were taken of the Class 56
and the A1 along with some of the A1’s
support coach. The consist departed at
around 1.15pm, after which the gates were
closed for another day. Tornado is due
to return to Barrow Hill for September’s
“Barrow Hill Live” event.
Newsletter in Electronic
Format
As announced in the last Newsletter, this
entertaining and informative magazine is
now available in electronic format.
As the cost of postage escalates into the
stratosphere, we would like to encourage
as many readers as possible to move
to this way of receiving the Newsletter,
delivered to your computer for you to flick
through at your leisure.
Once the excitement of Jeremiah Dixon
and Tornado had finished the happy group
were treated to one of Dale’s “Special
Tours” around the Barrow Hill site. Many
more photos were taken of the Barrow
Hill exhibits and a further treat was the
sight of five of the HNRC Class 20 locos
and one of Michael Owens 20s along with
two pairs of barrier wagons all stabled
along the platform/running road. This
combination is on loan to GBRf for use
in hauling the new London underground
stock from Old Dalby, through HNRC.
Another advantage is that the electronic
version – unlike the printed Newsletter
– is in FULL COLOUR throughout. If
you would like to opt to receive the
Newsletter by email rather than post,
please email
[email protected].
8
Events update
Rail Ale 2014 on 15th,
16th and 17th May
Wow, what a way to celebrate the 13th
Rail Ale Festival! Sunshine and blue skies,
fantastic musical entertainment and an
even larger beer and cider selection to
choose from!
filled to bursting with people from all over
the country, near and far, young and young
at heart, enjoying one of the best beer
festivals in the country.
This year, for the first time the event took
place over three days, starting on Thursday
evening. Billed as a quieter evening for
those wanting to enjoy a full choice of
beers in relative peace, there is no doubt
that this will become a very popular
addition to the Festival arrangements as
everyone who came said they were going
to recommend it to their friends!
We were pleased to welcome our new
sponsors Oakham Ales, Navigation
Brewery and Cornish Orchards to the
Festival for the very first time, alongside
existing sponsors Castle Rock, Fullers,
Batemans, Marstons and Titanic. Our
friends from Wells & Young with the
Bombardier Routemaster bus and bar
once again welcomed our visitors at the
entrance to the event.
Rail Ale crowds enjoying the
music on Saturday afternoon. The Friday and Saturday followed in the
footsteps of previous Rail Ale Festivals –
Photo: Paul Bigland
9
Events update
continued...
The highlight of this year’s Festival – other
than the 230 different ales and over 70
different ciders and perrys and a great
selection of craft keg beers – has to have
been the music. From Ashover Brass
Band and the New Orleans Jazz Band in
the Marquee to Redwood, Black Hands,
Local Heroes and Shaydes on the main
stage – all were pretty special but there
is absolutely no doubt that the amazing
“Doc Marten and the Ill Fitting Suits” quite
simply brought the house down and the
13th Rail Ale Festival to a fitting close on
Saturday night!
The Archive team put on childrens’ activities
in one of the carriages on the Platform –
renamed the Blue Peter Loco Clubhouse
for the day – which were very popular. As
were the turntable demonstrations featuring
the newly arrived Midland Compound and
guided tours of the site.
Beer of the Festival awarded on Thursday,
went to local Derbyshire brewery Ashover
for their Littlemoor Citra.
Jools Holland &
his Rhythm & Blues
Orchestra
There’s no rest for the Rail Ale team – the
planning has already started for Rail Ale
2015 on 14th-16th May – so get the dates
in your diary.
We are thrilled that Jools Holland & his
Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, featuring
Gilson Lavis, with special guest star
Melanie C and guest vocalists Ruby Turner
and Louise Marshall will be appearing at
Barrow Hill Roundhouse for one night
only on Saturday 13th September 2014.
This really will be a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to see these artists in our
unique and atmospheric Roundhouse and
launches the Roundhouse as one of the
most unusual music venues in the country!
Roundhouse Open Days
On 28th and 29th June we once again
held our Roundhouse Open Days in
association with Chesterfield Canal, giving
visitors young and old a chance to explore
and celebrate the industrial transport
heritage of the local area. There was
certainly plenty of transport on offer at
the Roundhouse – with the Peckett and
Vulcan hauling the passenger trains up
the Springwell branch and the 03 giving
cab rides in the yard. And a London
Routemaster bus heading for Oxford
Circus (!) via the Roundhouse transported
visitors between the activities at the Canal
Festival and the Roundhouse.
A purpose-built stage will be constructed
over the Roundhouse turntable and pit
and some of the locomotives usually on
display will form an atmospheric backdrop.
A substantial amount of the Roundhouse
will be opened up for the audience to
10
from Chesterfield Station straight into the
Roundhouse site.
Guest steam locomotives at this year’s
event will include one of the Roundhouse’s
regular visitors: the ever-popular A1 60163
Tornado. We are also delighted to confirm
the attendance of two locomotives making
their first visit to the Roundhouse – the
Bahamas Locomotive Society’s No. 1704
Nunlow and LNWR Coal Tank No. 1050
(owned by the National Trust and in the
care of the Bahamas Locomotive Society).
The ever popular resident Peckett No.
2000 and Vulcan will also be in steam.
Static exhibits will include Midland
Compound No. 1000 as well as other
well-known Roundhouse regulars: A2
60532 Blue Peter, GCR ‘Director’ Butler
Henderson, the J17 and another recent
arrival, GWR Large Prairie No. 5164.
enjoy a uniquely close-up and personal
concert from Jools Holland and his guests.
This will be a fantastic night for those lucky
enough to have a ticket!
The 2014 event will see even more layouts
on display than last year. Those confirmed
so far include:
Tickets are now on sale and available
online through www.seetickets.com priced
at £37 each (a booking fee applies) or from
the Roundhouse café (no booking fee).
Further information on the event can also
be found at www.engineshedconcerts.com.
Clee Valley Railway – 09
An unusual scale gauge combination
being 7mm/ft scale running on 9mm track
representing a miniature 15 inch gauge
railway. The layout portrays a typical 15
inch gauge tourist attraction of which
there are 38 in the UK. It is not based
on any particular railway although visitors
who have been to the Bure Valley Railway
in Norfolk might see a resemblance to the
station at Hoveton (Wroxham); or wonder
about Stokesay in Shropshire.
Barrow Hill Live!
This year’s event, taking place on Saturday
27th and Sunday 28th September, will be
supported by BRM and Warners Shows,
organisers of the renowned London,
Doncaster and Peterborough model
railway shows which attract thousands of
visitors every year. We are also delighted
that East Midlands Trains will once again be
providing the unique train shuttle running
Duke Street – OO
Duke Street is probably the largest Hornby
Dublo two-rail lay-out on the exhibition
circuit. It shows a full selection of Hornby
11
Events update
continued...
Dublo 2 rail steam and diesel locomotives
with possibly a few Wrenn locomotives.
There is a complete range of goods wagons
and carriages of the super detailed series
and also all the later plastic buildings
from the Hornby range plus other period
accessories from other companies such as
Merit and Crescent. Also on the lay-out are
some Dublo Dinky vehicles, which were
specially designed to go with the railway
system. These all date from 1958 until
1964, when Meccano/Hornby went into
liquidation and was taken over by Triang.
Eisengebrau – HO
Eisengebrau is a fictitious place in former
Prussia around 1910. The main aim is
entertainment rather than 100% accuracy.The
name is a horribly rough translation of that
famous drink made in Scotland from girders!
Forthtal Schmalspurbahn - HO
Forthtal Schmalspurbahn is a depiction of
the many German and Austrian narrow
gauge railways that many people will have
encountered on their holidays. The detail
in the locomotive models and the bridge
will appeal to modellers while the wooded
scenery, Faller car system and tourist
atmosphere will appeal to casual visitors.
The layout is operated from both the front
and back so that operators are always ‘out
front’ and visitors’ questions are welcomed.
Edgeworth – OO
Edgeworth is a BRM ‘Project Layout’. The
GWR branch line will be operated by
BRM’s Phil Parker who will be on hand to
answer your railway modelling questions.
The Coal Tank at Oakworth on the Keighley &
Worth Valley Railway. The Coal Tank will visit
Barrow Hill for the first time at the “Barrow
Hill Live!” event taking place in September. Photo: John Cooper-Smith
12
and smoke. DCC control allows maximum
use of these features in a compact space.
Orestone Quay – OO
The layout was built by the late John Lewis
and depicts a fictitious harbour location
‘somewhere’ in Southern England in 1947.
Short trains only can be accommodated
which arrive from the fiddle yard to
be shunted by the privately owned
quay engines to the various sidings or
marshalled into trains ready to depart.
Foston Mills – O
The layout shows a ‘might have been’ branch
of the North Holderness Light Railway from
North Frodingham to Foston-on-the-Wolds
to a brewery, and a large flour mill.The
location and most of the buildings still exist;
however, the mill had to be reconstructed
using an invoice drawing, a 19th century floor
plan for an insurance valuation and a 1910
photograph of the ruins after a catastrophic
fire some ten years earlier. Other buildings
have been added to the mill complex
assuming the fire didn’t happen, the brewery
didn’t close and the railway arrived!
Stodmarsh Camp – O
This layout is based on a proposed
but never completed, extension to the
East Kent Railway. Owned by Colonel
Stephens, the proposed line would have
run from Wingham to Canterbury West
via Stodmarsh, a distance of 7½ miles.
Construction began at Wingham in 1919
but in 1931, owing to the General Strike,
followed by the depression and the
untimely death of the Colonel, work on
the line was cancelled
Hampton End – G
Hampton End is a small branch line link
serving a small village. Most of the freight
that used the line was fish from quayside.
After the closure of the line, a group of
local rail enthusiasts reinstated the tracks
and buildings and purchased a few foreign
engines and stock and most weekends
trains can be seen running.
Turners Folly – OO
This layout runs Digital Command Control
(DCC) with all-round viewing of two
continuous tracks, a large station and
street scene followed by countryside
leading to large marshalling yard with
further scenics and models. The idea of the
folly is to demonstrate the simplicity of
DCC together with the benefits of train
speed control, sound and lights. There is
also the opportunity to watch working
automatic sequential signals.
Maloja - HOm
Maloja is a village near St. Moritz in Eastern
Switzerland and is situated on one of the
“planned but never built” Rhätische Bahn
extensions, which would have extended to
the Italian border at Castesegna or even into
Italy. It would have been quite spectacular
having to descend the Maloja pass.
Newlands Farm – Gn15
Newland’s Farm is built in a fairly unusual
scale – Gn15 – and represents a subject
not often modelled, that of a narrow gauge
agricultural railway. These were not unusual
in the days before tractors were common
on large farms and estates
In addition, the following Demonstrators
confirmed to attend the event so far are:
Paul Lunn – layout design clinic.
Oldham King Street Parcels – O
The layout features O gauge diesels with sand
David Wright – the construction of
model buildings for a miniature landscape.
13
Events update
continued...
Other highlights of the event include free
steam and brake van rides, the popular
ride-on miniature train, a free show guide
and free bus service from Chesterfield
Railway Station.
Waveney Valley O Gauge Group (Rob
Bishop, Jon Gardner, Paul Slade and
Robin Arkinstall) – running a series of
workshops including:
• Etched brass kit construction locos,
wagons, coaches, etc.
• A shuttle track with a display of
completed locos and rolling stock
plus DCC demonstration.
• Soldering demonstrations.
• Demonstration of American diesel
and electric loco construction.
The event is open from 10.00am to 5.00pm
on Saturday 28th September and 10.00am
to 4.30pm on Sunday 29th September.
However, those holding advance
tickets will be able to enter the show
at 9.30am on both days.
Tickets are now on sale and are available
from www.model-railways-live.co.uk or
by telephoning 01778 391123 (Monday to
Friday 9am-5pm). Barrow Hill members
will be able to claim their discounted
tickets by ringing the ticket line and
quoting their membership number and
post code.
Ticket holders will once again be able to
travel to the show using the unique East
Midlands Trains shuttle train service from
Chesterfield Station direct to the event
and avoiding the queues. Tickets for the
shuttle train can be bought in advance
with event tickets. Tickets to travel on the
train will also be available on the day at
Chesterfield Station when purchased with
an event ticket.
Ticket
Prices
Advance
Post/Phone
Don’t forget that you can find
detailed and up-to-date information
on all the Roundhouse events on
the Barrow Hill website and on our
Facebook and Twitter pages.
Advance
Online
Advance
BRM Subscriber*
Post/Phone/
Online
Advance
Barrow Hill
Member*
Phone
On the
Door
Adults
£13.00£11.00
£9.00
£9.00 £13.00
Children aged 5-15**
£7.00
£6.00 No Discount No Discount£7.00
(under 5s free entry)
Family
£33.00£28.00No Discount No Discount
£33.00
(2 adults and 3 children)
Shuttle Train (return)
£5.50
£5.50
£5.50
£5.50£6.00
*Maximum of two tickets per person.
**All children must be accompanied by an adult.
14
The Vulcan story
Visitors to Barrow Hill will be
aware that there is a new steam
locomotive in action there now: I
refer of course to the black 0-4-0
saddle tank called Vulcan which is
owned by The Vulcan Locomotive
Trust.
By 1969 the loco had been donated to the
Lytham Creek Motive power Museum at
Lytham St Annes, Lancashire where, again,
she was presented on an isolated panel of
track. A repaint into LNWR black followed
and then a period of relative obscurity
followed until about 1983.
Vulcan was built in 1918 by the Vulcan
Foundry of Newton Le Willows, Lancashire.
Many people have said that she looks a
lot older than 1918 and this is principally
because she was built to a much earlier
Vulcan Foundry design. There is also some
confusion about locomotive number 1828
of 1902 which was to the same design so
I hope this article will help to clear up the
matter of Vulcan’s true identity!
From 1981 to 1990 I was Project Manager
and CME at the Peak Rail project and
in 1983 one of the key members there
purchased a lovely little Peckett 0-4-0ST
from Lytham Creek Museum called, would
you believe, “Lytham No 1”! This loco is
now at Butterley but back in 1983 when
a group of us went up to load her up for
transport to Buxton for restoration back
to working order the Vulcan story took an
unexpected twist.
The locomotive we now see was the
works shunter at the Foundry and, as
far as we can tell, she never left during
her working life. It is fascinating to think
that she probably pulled almost every
locomotive built by the Foundry out from
the works from 1918 until the mid 1960s
when she was withdrawn from service and
placed on the works sports ground on a
panel of track. There was, and still is, huge
affection for this little loco in Newton Le
Willows. At the Foundry in the 1960s she
was looked after by the Works Manager
Doug Gudgin who kept her in good
working order even though by then he
had two diesel shunters available to shunt
the works and the yards.Vulcan Foundry
built their last steam loco in 1957 and then
switched to diesel loco construction which
also came to an end in 1970.
Martyn Ashworth with Vulcan during the steam
test at Barrow Hill in September 2013.
Photo: Alexa Stott
15
Looking around the Museum after the low
loader had left with Peckett 2111 on board,
I got talking to the Museum owner, Jim
Morris. It became clear that the Museum
was having to scale back a bit due to
expansion of the helical spring works next
door (owned by Jim and his family) and
quite a few items, including locomotives,
had already been sold. A conversation
took place next to the isolated Vulcan and
she duly changed hands, the purchasers
being myself and a number of Peak Rail
colleagues. Vulcan joined the growing
collection of locos at the Buxton Steam
centre.
locos, 193 and 2746, which had to take
precedence.
In January 1990 I left Peak Rail and moved
away to Swanage to take up the post of
CME there. Vulcan stayed behind and was
ultimately moved down to Darley Dale
as the Buxton site was finally emptied by
1991. Many of the VLT Trustees remained
active at Peak Rail for some years
afterwards and in due course work started
on the loco again – this time headed up by
Peak Rail fitter Malcolm Worthington.
I would like to pay tribute at this point to
Malcolm and his helpers – the work they
did put Vulcan in good stead for the future
– they did return her to steam briefly
about 1997 but she did very little work at
the railway and a problem with the axle
box bearings meant she was then out of
traffic for some considerable time. Malcolm
retired and once again the little loco went
back to sleep.
Vulcan Foundry was still open at this time
but it was then owned and operated by
English Electric and they were no longer
building locomotives of any kind. However,
they had heard about Vulcan and they duly
invited us to attend their forthcoming
open day, which we did with considerable
enthusiasm – this was in the summer of
1983 and it was great to be able to take
the loco back to her old works one more
time.
Tim Oaks had kept an eye on the loco for
some time and a chance meeting at Barrow
Hill between Tim and I led to the dust
being blown off the original Trust deed, a
meeting of the Trustees being called and
a resolution drawn up to do something
with Vulcan. At this stage she was sat on
blocks at Rowsley awaiting axle box work
but Tim had already had four new axle box
crown brasses cast so the logical place to
start was to get these machined and the
loco re-wheeled so she could then be reassembled. As the loco was on blocks over
the pit and as the pit was now needed to
service loco 48624, the decision was taken
to move her to Barrow Hill so the work
could carry on under cover.
The group who had purchased the loco
now formed themselves into The Vulcan
Locomotive Trust and a formal Trust deed
was drawn up. We successfully gained
charitable status and a Science Museum
PRISM fund grant meant that restoration
work could get under way. It is interesting
to note that of the seven original Trustees
four are still Trustees and of these three
were involved in her recent return to
steam. Four new Trustees have been
appointed to replace those had retired.
A lot of work was carried out on the loco
at Buxton but events overtook us as we
had a railway to build so she was sidelined
behind work on the two Austerity
This move took place on November
5th 2010. Bagnall 2746 also moved to
16
Wirksworth at this time as did the 8F
Society tool van. A formal agreement
was put in place between The Vulcan
Locomotive Trust and Barrow Hill and
work duly got underway on the next phase
of Vulcan’s restoration back to full working
order. The wheel sets were removed and
despatched to a local company for turning
and to have the journals polished. The
new crown brasses were also machined
up and fitted to the new journal sizes and
a highly polished finish was achieved on
both surfaces. In the meantime a team was
formed at Barrow Hill to get on with the
extensive restoration work required on
the rest of the loco.
I produced a “critical path” of jobs to
do and we all got stuck in – there were
two Sunday working days every month
supplemented later by several midweek
working days as completion loomed. It
does not sound much, two days a month,
but we found that by getting organised
with the right tools and materials, etc.,
we could work more efficiently. We set
ourselves realistic targets for each working
day and aimed for them and, mostly, I am
pleased to say, we achieved them!
By September 2013 work had reached the
point of a boiler steam test, which took
place on the 26th and I was able to report
to my Trust colleagues that she had passed
– Vulcan was back! She was in steam at
“Barrow Hill Live!” the following weekend
to the surprise of many of our visitors and
again in October for Laurie’s 50th birthday
bash. By this time the vacuum brake system
had been completed and she was able to
double head with Peckett 2000 on her first
ever passenger train. She was running again
at the February gala, giving brake van rides
and surrounded by LNER Pacifics, and she
17
also did her first ever photo charter on
the Friday of this event. In late March she
moved to Beamish Museum for a period of
running at the colliery and then transferred
to Rowley for a period of operations on
the passenger line. Between these two
events she went in to their RMS building
and received a final make over – two coats
of black gloss and full lining out in LNWR
style. Again tribute has to be paid to Paul
Jarman and his team for doing this work
for us and especially to Phil Anderson for
the utterly superb lining out job he had
done for us – he really is a “top man”.
Whilst at Beamish colliery Vulcan
undertook her second photo charter, this
time organised by Martin Creese. It was
not an ideal day for the photographers as
it was gloomy and dull but the photos that
appeared later are just stunning; there is
no other word for it, as the photographers
caught a classic industrial steam loco
working in a classic and unspoilt industrial
setting.Vulcan operated trains at Rowley
until the end of June after which she
returned to Barrow Hill for the Canal
Festival. On Saturday 3rd May Vulcan
hauled her first ever solo passenger train
at Rowley, witnessed by Vulcan Locomotive
Trust Trustee John Rhead. Another
milestone passed in the Vulcan story.
Vulcan is now off on her travels again,
having moved to the Foxfield Railway as
a guest loco at their Summer Gala event
on 19th and 20th July. On August 2nd she
will make the journey back to Newton Le
Willows, retracing her steps from 1983.
She will not recognise the place though:
where the works used to be is a now a
huge development of 630 houses but we
will position her outside the old works
gates in what is now called the “Vulcan
latterly been named Vulcan. At the start of
her life 1828 had been called Pax. There is
a view that the tank and chimney currently
on 3272 may have come from 1828. What
is a fact is that they were identical locos
with 13” x 18” cylinders, 5’1/2” dia driving
wheels and 500 gallon water tanks.
Village” and local people will be able to
come along and reminisce. We are keen to
see photos of her at the works – we have
very little by the way of an archive and
because she was always within the confines
of the works the only people likely to have
such photos of her are probably former
employees.
Vulcan has had something of a charmed
life and it is a life characterised by a
number of people who have looked after
her from Mr Gudgin, the Vulcan Foundry
works manager, to Jim Morris, to Malcolm
Worthington and to the present day
Vulcan Locomotive Trust Trustees. We are
only ever caretakers of such locos in our
lifetimes but at least Vulcan is now in one
piece and operational again for everyone to
enjoy. Like all working locos she will need
a ten yearly strip down in due course but
this might well fall to the next generation
to carry out!
After Newton Le Willows Vulcan is due to
appear at the Ribble Steam Railway – the
nearest steam railway to her former home.
She will be there until late September and
we hope during that time that people from
the North West will come and see her in
steam at a series of events and running
days. Vulcan’s first year back in traffic will
be rounded off with a return to Barrow
Hill for the “Barrow Hill Live!” event at the
end of September and then a short visit to
the Rutland Railway Museum for their gala
in November. In 2015 a visit to the LWR is
planned.
My thanks to all the team who worked
on Vulcan (past and present) and who
continue to look after her – some are
Trustees and others are not but all are part
of the steam team at Barrow Hill.
Vulcan’s build number is 3272 of 1918.
When we were restoring her we looked
for identifying marks on her components
and this is the only number that appears.
We have studied the works records and
there was a batch of three such locos
produced in 1902: build numbers 1828,
1829 and 1830. 1830 was built as an 0-40ST with a crane installed over the rear
end and she gained the name “Bee”; she
also stayed within the works confines all
her life, being scrapped on site in 1951.
The L&YR also had a class of three
of these locos built but they had disc
“pug” type driving wheels and full L&YR
Livery and lining out. Finally, in 1918 the
Foundry produced three more such locos,
3270-3272. 3272 is now Vulcan but it is
believed these name plates were taken
from scrapped sister loco 1828 which had
Our current restoration project is Andrew
Whiteheads HL 0-4-0ST Swanscombe
which will hopefully be back in steam in
early 2015. The Vulcan Locomotive Trust
is currently looking to revamp its Trust
status and once we complete this process
wider Trust membership will become
available which will hopefully encourage
all supporters of Vulcan and that essential
next generation to get involved.
Martyn Ashworth
18
Top: Some of the Vulcan team at work during the steam test in September 2013.
Photo: Alexa Stott
Bottom: A Midland loco on a Midland shed.
Photo: Dave Darwin
19
Picture This. . .
Midland Compound 1000 stands proudly
on the Roundhouse turntable during a
shoot specially organised for The Railway
Magazine shortly after the loco’s arrival.
Photo: Nick Brodrick
So many beers, so much choice!
Doc Marten and The Ill Fitting Suits entertain the Rail Ale crowds.
Photos: Paul Bigland
22
Dave Darwin Remembers...
Tunnels - Part 2
Some Barrow Hill route tunnels have
been opened out. The 101 yard Longland
Tunnel at Ambergate on the Derby to
Chesterfield line was made into a cutting
in Midland Railway days. Further north on
the Midland Railway line from Rotherham
to Leeds, between Royston and
Normanton, the 702 yard Chevet Tunnel
was also opened out. Sadly this once main
line route is now just a single line to Monk
Bretton Glassworks. Nearer to Barrow
Hill and in more recent times Broomhouse
Tunnel at 92 yards was also opened out.
This was situated between Sheepbridge
and Unstone on the Chesterfield to
Sheffield line.
Following on from his article
about Totley Tunnel in Newsletter
43, Dave talks about other tunnels
in the area with links to Barrow
Hill.
Thanks to the geography of the local
landscape, the routes Barrow Hill train
crews worked usually involved passing
through tunnels; from a single line tunnel
on the Norwood branch from Killamarsh
at 300 yards long and just enough room
for a Class 3F tender loco to pass through
to the 6,230 yard Totley Tunnel, a smokey,
damp hell hole where it was always a relief
to see the light at the end!
Looking towards Creswell, the line curving
off to the left is the Whitwell Quarry Branch.
The land over the tunnel is rich in magnesium
limestone which is to be quarried by Lafarge Ltd.
The tunnel will be closed and the line diverted
around it while this work takes place sometime
in the future. The diverted line will probably go
where the quarry branch line goes off.
Photo: Dave Darwin
23
Dave Darwin Remembers... continued...
Crewe. It went to the Clapham Museum
before moving to the National Railway
Museum at York in the 1970s where it had
a spell working enthusiast specials.
Compounds were the main express
passenger locos in Midland Railway days.
They did some very good work, at one
time working a non-stop Euston-Glasgow
service (with just a stop at Carlisle for a
crew change).
The Sheffield District Railway from Treeton
to Brightside had an 80 yard tunnel just
north of Catcliffe. This disappeared with
the excavations for the Tinsley Marshalling
Yard reception lines and became known as
the Canyon.
An interesting tunnel built to suit a local
land owner who did not want to see
trains from his home at Byram Hall was
Brotherton Tunnel near Ferrybridge on
the S&K line between Rotherham and
York. This 219 yard tunnel was reduced in
length by 100 yards in the 1950s to save on
maintenance costs.
However, the Compounds were only rated
Class 4 and when Mr Stanier took over
the motive power of the LMS he soon
changed the Midland Railway’s small engine
policy. The Jubilees, Patriots and Pacifics
took over the top workings, leaving the
Compounds for mostly local passenger
work.
Looking to the future, the 544 yard
Whitwell Tunnel on the Worksop to
Mansfield Robin Hood line will one day
be opened out and the line temporarily
diverted to allow a nearby quarry to
extract valuable magnesium limestone,
through which the tunnel passes.
Compounds never found much favour with
train crews as a different method of driving
them was needed to get the best out of
them. Many drivers did not understand
this and worked them like other locos
which did not suit them. They soldiered
on until the late 1950s. Occasionally one
would turn up at Barrow Hill on an empty
wagon train from the Derby area but with
7ft driving wheels they really were not
suited to this work.
A new resident at the
Roundhouse
Now that the Ivatt Atlantic has gone we
can welcome another famous passenger
loco from a past era: the Midland Railway
Compound 1000.
In the 1980s when it was used on rail tours
it was known as the “Crimson Rambler”.
This more than 100 year old locomotive is
the only survivor of a class of nearly 200
built in 1905 but rebuilt in 1914. It was
restored in 1959 after a period in store at
1000 carries a No. 1 shed plate which was
Derby under the Midland Railway system,
Barrow Hill being No. 24 Staveley.
Dave Darwin
24
Butler Henderson
Star of the Silver Screen
magazine-styled documentary films for
other enthusiasts. ‘Steam Locos in Profile’,
a YouTube series of short reviews about
steam locomotive classes, became the first
realisation of that dream. These short films
study locomotives in detail and review the
concept, history, strengths, weaknesses,
decline and revival of each class. As many of our visitors will have
seen, our archive collection is now
coming to life and we are starting
to share our wonderful collection of
Barrow Hill items from times past. During the last few events at Barrow Hill, our
archive visitors have been entertained by a
selection of films made by people who we
Chris visited Barrow Hill recently to film
might term “railway enthusiasts”. These are
not always professional photographers, merely our resident guest Butler Henderson for
people who show an intrinsic love for railways. his latest project “Going Great Central”.
As the name implies, this is a feature length
documentary following the remnants of
Trawling across the internet looking
the Great Central Railway. The film was
for good films we came across a
the main focus of Chris’ university finals,
young film maker called Chris Edenearning him First Class Honours. It is likely
Green who fulfilled all of the criteria
to be made public in the near future and
we set. Chris is a recent graduate
we have been promised a copy.
from Ravensbourne College of Design
& Communication and also holds
It was interesting to see Chris at work and
a Mechanical Engineering qualification
it soon became obvious that the standard
at Distinction level. He is a lifetime
three quarter shot of the engine was not
member of the Bluebell Railway and a true
his style. He looked at the details on the
enthusiast for all things running on steam! engine that few casual visitors would notice. We
are fortunate to have such a beautiful
In 2010, watching the endless stream of
locomotive here and it was a pleasure to
celebrities producing general interest films
see someone enjoy the experience so much.
about railways and with an eye to the
success of Top Gear, he dreamed of creating Mike Creagh
Chris Eden-Green filming at Barrow Hill.
Photo: Dale Holford
25
The Archives
The second in a new series of
articles from our Archives team.
This time it is David Nightingale’s
turn to report on the exploits
– and VERY hard work - of the
Archives team during the recent
Accreditation process.
This is a far cry from the position in
April 2013 when, with only David Aldis
and me in the Archives, the prediction
for completion was at least two to three
years! That April we advertised for Archive
volunteers and we were very lucky to go
from two to six volunteers by the end of
May. This has enabled us to complete the
task by the end of June 2014.
At last everything has been completed
that was required for our Accreditation.
Hopefully it will be successful as it is a
very important part of the package when
submitting a bid for Heritage Lottery
funding or accessing any other grants.
I would like to thank everyone in the Archive
Team for their efforts in achieving this.
It has entailed identifying all of our
artefacts, deciding which have to be
accessioned, which are loans, which are
required for education or exhibitions and
which can be returned to the original
donor or offered to other museums.
All Barrow Hill-related artefacts have
been entered by hand into the Accession
Register with their own unique code,
then onto computer. They have been
individually photographed and labelled with
their own number.
We have then worked through all of the
archives: every shelf, every box, the Library,
the Lobby and the Shed itself checking that
every artefact is where it should be, a place
for everything and everything in its place.
Should we have an inspection we are
confident that an inspector can look
for any of the artefacts either in the
Accession Register or computer and find
the information about origin, donor, its
description and where it is in the museum.
Mike Creagh from the Archives
giving Blue Peter some TLC.
Photo: Dale Holford
26
The Baby Deltic Project
end free to move and therefore able to
be drawn towards the stationary section
thus effecting the shortening. Bracing was
welded to the loco body to prevent it
changing shape or rotating in any plane, a
horizontal sliding member was also welded
to either side between the body halves to
maintain the longitudinal alignment.
Since taking up residence in
the Roundhouse work on the
conversion of 37372 into D5910 has
been both impressive and rapid. By
far and away the most noticeable
change has been the shortening
of the body between the cabs by
1310mm.
In order to undertake this safely it was
necessary to build a support structure
underneath the loco underframe: once
the final cut in the existing superstructure
was made this would hold about half the
weight of the loco – the other half being
divided between the bogies. The support
structure would be welded to one half
of the loco underframe with the other
The underframe and body of the donor
loco after the major cuts have been
made. The extremely rough cuts were
made with gas & air for speed and bear
no resemblance to the accurate weld
preparation which was carried out later. The support structure which is holding the
loco off the floor can be seen clearly.
Photo: Richard J Senior
27
The Baby Deltic Project
continued...
Once all the support members were in
place the loco was cut in half – a mindnumbingly tedious, noisy and dirty process
which took two days. It was more
uncomfortable by the fact that the cuts
in the underframe would form one of the
pieces to be welded back together after
the shortening so it had to be straight and
true – no hacking away with oxy-propane
here.
The loco having been drawn together
and welding completed, to those familiar
with Class 37 locos the shortening is
immediately obvious. The nose closest to the camera had been
shortened some time before to prove the
viability of the process. There remains a
considerable amount of work necessary
to complete the body and superstructure.
Photo: Richard J Senior
A big thank you goes to our regular
contributors for their efforts with pen and
paper or keyboard and mouse.
The final cut was totally without drama:
we didn’t expect the half of the loco which
was welded to the support to move and
it didn’t; we had half expected the other
portion to stress-relieve itself as the
metal was separated but in the end – with
nothing more than an almost unnoticeable
We would also like to hear stories
from other contributors.
We know there must be many out there!
Please get in touch with Alexa Stott by post:
Barrow Hill Roundhouse, Campbell Drive, Barrow
Hill, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S43 2PR.
Or email: [email protected]
28
‘clunk’ – fifty years of the loco being in one
piece came to an end. 37372 was dead and
D5910 was born.
The preparation of the faces to be welded
together was completed according to the
previously approved weld design and the
welding was carried out by Steve Williams
of Sheaf Engineering and tested by NDT
Services.
Of course, cutting the loco in half was
only the start, there was 1310mm of body
to remove and because of the limited
clearance between the support structure
and the bogie it couldn’t all be removed
in one go. Over the next month chunks
were cut from the body, superstructure
and underframe and once enough had been
removed the moveable loco half was drawn
towards the fixed half.
If you would like to keep up to date with
progress on this project please visit our
website at
www.thebabydelticproject.co.uk
Thanks for help with the progress to
date goes to; Rampart Engineering,
Sheaf Engineering, NDT Services Ltd,
Chesterfield Loco Action Group, Steve
Andrews and, of course, Barrow Hill
Roundhouse.
This process was repeated (and redundant
lengths of the support structure cut
away) until the loco could be shortened
no more – both clean cut halves of the
underframe were hard together and the
loco length was correct for a Baby Deltic;
9750mm, 32’ 0”.
47815 Great Western and 47843 Vulcan of
Riviera Trains outside the HNRC shed.
Photo: Dale Holford
29
DPS report
Railway until the end of September working
at the Summer Diesel Gala on 4th-6th July,
two days in August and the Autumn Diesel
Gala on 27th and 28th September.
Following the rail tour on 28th
December 2013 with D9009 and
the “East Coast Giants” event at
Barrow Hill all efforts turned to the
annual maintenance and exams.
Back at Barrow Hill work was continuing on
55019 in preparation for the summer visit to
Our engineering team came up with a
the Severn Valley Railway.Work was centred
plan for 55019 which was to have hose
on hose replacement on both units which is
replacement to power units, cosmetic work
difficult but rewarding.There are 35 hoses on
and a B-exam. D9009 required some routine
each unit with some in the most awkward
maintenance and cosmetic repairs. At this
positions imaginable. As April approached
time we were working towards having 55019 some of the volunteers started the B exam.
ready for a visit to the Severn Valley Railway
When the engines were started to check
from May to October and a rail tour on 5th
the loco whilst running a few minor faults
May for D9009.
were found and rectified just in time for the
loco to be moved to the SVR by 55002
Kings Own Light Infantry on 1st May.
D9009 arriving at
55002 was on her way to Swanage
Ramsbottom.
with D6700 from the National Railway
Photo: Paul Senior
Museum via Barrow Hill and the Great
Central North at Ruddington. It is
planned that 55019 will work the diesel
diagram on selected dates, the diesel
gala on 2nd-4th October and some
footplate experience.
Please check the DPS website or
Facebook page for further details
and the Severn Valley and East Lancs
Railway websites before travelling.
With both D9009 and 55019 settled in their
temporary homes the volunteers are now
trying to push D9015 Tulyar forward.With
the body on jacks and the bogies removed
the tedious job of removing nearly 40
years of dirt and grime is ongoing prior to
receiving three coats of paint. Inside the loco
the last bits of painting are nearly complete.
Behind the scenes work has been taking
place on renovating two of our spare power
units, at least one of which is lined up for
D9015.
Then came a request from the East Lancs
Railway asking if they could have a Deltic
and could it be there to work a footplate
experience on 28th February. Things were
a bit tight but D9009 duly departed Barrow
Hill under her own power on 27th February.
D9009 continued to work without fault at
the Spring Diesel Gala on 8th and 9th March,
timetabled services over the Easter weekend,
a further footplate experience and service
trains again on 10th and 11th May.The tour
on 5th May was cancelled. Current plans
are for Alycidon to remain at the East Lancs
Darrell Marsh
30
Volunteers’ report
or notices pertaining to the job in hand
on Notice Boards located directly above
the signing on point. Simon’s piece which
follows goes into more detail.
Looking back since the spring
report, our weekly volunteers have
plodded on with various projects
although nothing major has been
done.
As mentioned in Nigel’s report we have had
to re-organise shop team and I would like
to add my thanks to Elaine, Tony and Ann for
their all their work in this vital area. Now
the shop will be manned on a rota basis and
although there will be a few gaps where the
shop will have to be closed, we hope that
when everyone has been trained in the new
system we will be able to rely on people
probably only having to do one session a
month – that is if we can cope with Nigel’s
paper work (ok, so it’s not that bad!).
Of course we have had two events, namely
“Rail Ale” and the “Roundhouse Open
Days”. These both went very well but we
mustn’t forget the hard work that goes into
the preparation: shunting the exhibits and
setting up and then all the cleaning up and
putting back, especially for the beer festival.
As reported before we have been using
the refurbishment of rolling stock as fill in
jobs: the Clay Cross wagon in particular
is looking good. Along with the rolling
stock I should include the platform trolleys.
Several of these have been refurbished and
now look as they should do. They are also
handy to move stuff about the site.
So on to the next big job: preparing for Jools
Holland. We have been working steadily to
get the bolts on the turntable ready to move,
ready for a strip down so a stage can be built.
Don Cambridge – Volunteer Co-ordinator
Anyone who visits the Roundhouse will
see that the area around the Foreman’s
office has been tidied and a new Signing On
point located on the side wall. This has had
to be done so we can adopt a new practice
of signing on and reading any safety notices
47769 in old Virgin colours with ex
MoD shunters 01515 and 01520
outside the HNRC shed.
Photo: Dale Holford
31
money matters
Expenditure & Grant
Income
Events
There have been two public events since
our last edition, namely the ever-successful
annual beer festival and the June open days
in association with the Chesterfield Canal
Festival.
We recently received a grant of £3,000
from Museum Development East Midlands,
to whom we are very grateful, to finance
our continuing expenditure on the project
“Moving Forward - Developing a new
audience for Barrow Hill Roundhouse”
which is part of our Heritage Lottery
Funding Round One bid. As previously
reported, this important project is
endeavouring to broaden our visitor base
to ensure our future success.
Our “Rail Ale” festival was a resounding
success. The addition of the Thursday
evening quiet taster session was a great
idea. It was not particularly busy, but gave
visitors the choice of the beers before
any sold out, admission was cheaper
than it was on the Friday and Saturday
and there was an absence of live music
for those who prefer a quiet drink. I fully
recommend it. Friday and Saturday were
as busy as ever and the whole event
continues to give a healthy boost to our
funds. I thought the arrangement of the
Roundhouse was superb, with plenty of
space created for the public, and would say
that it was the best layout I can remember.
The traditional collection for Ashgate
Hospice at the gate raised a record
amount of £1,091.03, nearly £200 up
on last year. Well done to all involved:
our generous drinkers and to collection
organiser Lynda Parrish and the team.You
raised a fantastic amount for a very worthy
cause.
Much of our expenditure over the last
few months has been directed towards
another essential project, that of boarding
the pits in the Roundhouse to ensure
visitor safety, with the May beer festival
acting as a useful deadline for completion.
A very professional job has now been
completed which should last us for a few
years.
The next major project is likely to be the
internal roof repairs in the Roundhouse,
which will include clearing the gutters,
sealing the many leaks, clearing the girders
of accumulated dust, rust and debris and
repairing loose sheets, so that we can
ensure visitor safety and comfort. This is
an important job that has been put off for
several years but is a necessary task as it
is a primary part of our mission statement
to preserve the Roundhouse and keep it
in a good state of repair. It is a particularly
convenient time to perform the work
whilst the Roundhouse is comparatively
empty after the beer festival.
We had a great laugh at the gate on the
Saturday evening with a lady “from the
Arkwright Arms” who had obviously enjoyed
a few drinks. She was pondering aloud
about whether she had drunk enough beer.
Mervyn’s priceless reply was “Madam, the
fact that you are carrying your beer glass in
your bra rather suggests that you may have
32
had enough to drink.” Her response was
that she had nowhere else to put it!
We have made improvements to the shop’s
displays and are offering some new items
with a few old favourites in our sale, “reduced
to clear” to make way for new stock.
The 28th and 29th June Open Days held in
conjunction with the Chesterfield Canal
Festival were not particularly well attended,
with visitor numbers being well down on last
year, a problem also reported by our Canal
friends. However, those attending received
good value for money, something which we
always pride ourselves upon at Barrow Hill,
and all our visitors seemed to enjoy their
visit. For a mere £5 for adults and no charge
for under 16s, we offered unlimited steam
train rides, demonstrations of the recently
arrived Midland Compound rotating on the
turntable, cab rides in the Class 03 diesel
shunter and guided tours of the whole site.
New titles have been added to our railway
book section, including Platform 5’s
“Locomotives and Coaching Stock 2014”
at £19.50 and “Preserved Locomotives
15th edition” at £16.95. The eagerly
awaited new Barrow Hill DVD has also
now arrived. “Little and Large” features
the 2011 “Model Rail Live!”, 2013 “Barrow
Hill Live!” and February 2014 “East Coast
Giants” events. There are plenty of big full
size LNER locomotives and a variety of
model railway layouts in several gauges
included in the DVD’s 90 minutes running
time, and all for only £15.
Shop!
Our “Sale” items include “Fab 4” 2012 gala
T shirts at only £5 and mugs at only £4,
Barrow Hill rubbers and pencil sharpeners
and various greeting cards.
Tony Ward, a long standing volunteer in the
shop, has unfortunately had to retire from
volunteering at Barrow Hill because he is
unable to drive following an operation on
his leg. The efforts of Tony and Ann over
many years have been much appreciated by
all at Barrow Hill and our visitors. Thank
you both, you will be missed!
Pay the shop a visit, all profits go towards
maintaining the Roundhouse.
September
We are all looking forward to a tropical
summer followed by a very busy
September at Barrow Hill. Don’t miss Jools
Holland and friends on the 13th and then
our “Barrow Hill Live!” weekend of model
railway layouts and full size trains on the
28th and 29th with our new partners,
Warners, Events.
Given this severe reduction in our numbers
of shop volunteers, we have acted by
introducing a rota system of trained
volunteers to ensure that the shop is open
as much as possible. Regular visitors are likely
to see a different person behind the counter
each week, rather like the guest presenter
idea on “Have I Got News For You.” It is too
much to expect any one person to staff the
shop on both days every weekend.
Nigel Atkinson, ACMA, CGMA
Treasurer
33
Volunteer Liaison Officer’s Report
• Part-time office duties
I’d like to start with a word of thanks
to those of you who took the time to
complete the Volunteer Survey.
Understanding of competence
• Accurate63%
• Inaccurate10%
The estimated number of volunteers varies
according to who you’re talking to but
‘fifty’ seems to be to the modal average.
Taken in the context of that the number of
responses at 23 is reasonable although I’m
not sure whether the remainder haven’t
taken part because of extreme satisfaction
or extreme opprobrium! Either way your
views are appreciated and you can still take
part; contact me to receive a survey form.
Negative comments
• No training for events
5%
• No opportunities at events other than
litter picking10%
• Poor organisation of stewards 10%
• Poor induction of volunteers 10%
• Lack of information for volunteers10%
• H & S not discussed in a friendly
manner5%
• Always the chosen few for good
jobs at events
10%
• Free admission for volunteers who are not seen all year
5%
• No forum for volunteers
10%
• Need more explainers for weekends5%
It is difficult to draw assumptions from such
a small sample but the following represents
an accurate précis of your views;
Number of respondents - 23
Average age - N/A (small sample)
Positive comments
• Well organised volunteers
10%
• Feel part of a team / friendly 15%
• Enjoy volunteering
10%
• Good praise5%
• Good variety of jobs
5%
• Good committee
5%
Volunteering experience
• Only at BH
57%
• Elsewhere too42%
Aspirations
• Museum archive team
5%
• Help at events
5%
• Guard and / or Driver
73%
• School visits5%
Impediments to aspirations
• Lack of training
• Lack of opportunity
5%
Note: the percentages are rounded and
therefore will not necessarily total 100.
The number of people who want to be
Guards & Drivers and the perceived lack of
training and opportunity to take greater part
in operations duties are worthy of comment.
We have very few open days/events in a
calendar year – usually less than five weekends.
The training and experience necessary to
achieve competence as a Driver does not
come overnight. We have a competence
management system that details (amongst
other things) the minimum number of shifts/
duties necessary both to achieve competence
26%
30%
Training needs
• Safety and stewarding
10%
• Archive5%
What could volunteers be doing that
they aren’t
• Greater involvement in Ops at events15%
• Signalling5%
34
in the first place and to keep it maintained.
Quite simply we do not operate often enough
to allow the progression through ranks.
Without exception all of the steam footplate
crews used at Barrow Hill have been trained
and assessed at other railways and, to be
frank, I cannot envisage a situation where this
will change. Diesel crews are almost exactly
the same; we have a very small contingent of
people who are competent to drive diesels
and we already struggle to find them sufficient
duties to maintain their competence.
contact me if you feel that you are lacking.
In the meantime a programme of induction
is being put into place, to be announced on
the notice board – I would urge you to make
every effort to attend if at all possible.
Safeguarding – a recent audit and review
of our processes found that we were
lacking in the area of safeguarding for
young persons and children. Whilst there
is absolutely no suggestion that anything
untoward has taken place we were in a
position where without the necessary
procedures we had to decline the
attendance of young persons temporarily.
A Safeguarding Officer has been appointed
and he is working with me and Mike
Kennedy to get the required processes
implemented as soon as possible.
However, it’s not all bad news; we do need
Guards, Platform Staff and Signallers. If you
feel that you would like to be considered
for one of these roles please contact me by
any of the methods shown at the end of this
article. Also, plans are being put in place for
a ‘taster day’ where volunteers will be able
to try their hand at roles which they might
not otherwise experience. Details will be
published on the new notice board in the
Roundhouse, which brings me to:
Finally, there is no database of members who
are volunteers. It is apparent from a recent
conversation that it would be very useful if
I could get in touch with volunteers outside
of the other means of communication so I
would ask that if you are a volunteer – and
even if you’ve been in touch previously –
please let me know as soon as possible. I
prefer email because it’s quick and easy but I
know that not everyone uses it so the postal
system is fine as an alternative.
Notice Boards – new notice boards and a
new signing on point (with thanks to Paul,
Craig and Frank) have been provided in the
Roundhouse adjacent to the office/locker
room in the corner. The notice boards
will be populated by the time you read
this article, please take some time to go
through the information which is there for
your benefit, which brings me to:
I started with thanks and I’ll finish with
them too, Barrow Hill is two sites – it is a
commercial railway ‘industrial estate’ during
the working week and a heritage railway at all
other times. There is no doubt that without
the efforts of volunteers we could not cope
– thank you for your continued efforts.
Inductions and Briefings – a number of you
have made it abundantly clear that you have
not received any safety training or briefings
prior to starting as a volunteer. Speaking as
Compliance Manager (a role I also undertake
for Barrow Hill) I take full responsibility for
this but you have a duty of care to make
sure that you do not carry out any role
for which you feel adequate training has
not been provided so I would ask that you
Simon Hartshorne
[email protected].
Barrow Hill Roundhouse, Campbell Drive,
Barrow Hill, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S43 2PR.
35
Historical Corner No. 36
On Time at St. Pancras
Betjeman began his battle to save St.
Pancras station from demolition in 1962,
he replied to the bureaucrats that it would
be a criminal folly to destroy a building
whose name conjured up wondrous
images of architecture and beauty in the
mind of every Londoner. The railwayloving Poet Laureate insisted that the
neo-Gothic splendour of the hotel forming
the station’s frontage and the giant span of
the arch designed by the Victorian railway
engineer William Barlow as the terminus
which had a place in the heart of anyone
who lived in London.
How fate turns its hand to save
a unique artefact or edifice for the
nation is often achieved more by
luck than judgement.
Sometimes it can be purely by chance, but
occasionally an individual has the vision
and determination to create the spark of
an idea, which can then turn into reality
if there is sufficient determination. Firstly,
that person will create a vision in their
mind of what must be done and to what
scale of time and money. It might be that
the task proves to be too great, or the
cost too immense and so the dream never
becomes a reality. On the other hand, it
might be that like-minded friends can be
found to share in the struggle or simply
through confidence and skill, the lone
enthusiast wins through in the end. The
world is thus enriched and we can all be
grateful for the successful outcome. The
survival of Barrow Hill Roundhouse and its
modern regeneration is a shining example
of what can be achieved if individuals pull
together with a common purpose.
Betjeman, who was battling plans to
redevelop the station as an office block,
wrote: “What he sees in his mind’s eye is
that cluster of towers and pinnacles seen
from Pentonville Hill and outlined against a
foggy sunset and the great arc of Barlow’s
train shed gaping to devour incoming
locomotives and the sudden burst of
exuberant Gothic of the hotel seen from
gloomy Judd Street”. The poet’s campaign
saved one of London’s grandest structures
from the wrecking ball and this led to the
station being listed as a Grade 1 monument,
with the same level of protection as
Canterbury Cathedral and Windsor Castle.
St. Pancras Station was opened in 1868
by the Midland Railway as its principal
passenger station in London and at the
time the arched “train shed” was the
largest single-span roof in the world.
The interior was adorned by a clock
specially made by Dent’s of London, who
had supplied luxury timepieces to the
rich and famous, including the Duke of
Wellington, Tsar Nicholas II and Winston
Churchill. Dent was also responsible
for some remarkable public clocks, for
example Big Ben, Balmoral Castle and
the Moscow Post Office. When Sir John
In the 1970s, British Rail carried out some
much needed renovation work at St. Pancras
station.They considered that the massive
clock at the concourse end of the train shed
was just too old fashioned and moreover,
an American collector had offered them
£250,000 for it.The contractors moved
in to take it down for shipment, but fate
thought otherwise when they dropped it and
it smashed into a thousand pieces. But this
36
was not the end of the story. Employees of
BR were able to take advantage of a scheme
called a “staff purchase order”, whereby they
could buy surplus or scrap materials for a
very nominal sum, obtain a receipt and take
their acquisition home.Typically, if you wanted
to build a garden shed for example, you could
legitimately acquire a chit for “firewood”
which would give you sufficient timber for the
job or better yet (if you lacked the necessary
carpentry skills), you could acquire the body
of a goods van or a complete compartment
from a passenger carriage.
indistinguishable from the original and now
the clock gazes down on the platforms,
where it is admired by thousands of
passengers every day, thanks to the
foresight, skill and ingenuity of Roland. We
railway enthusiasts should acknowledge
the contributions that people like John
Betjeman, Roland Hoggard and countless
others who have made their mark in the
cause of historic preservation.
At Barrow Hill Roundhouse, there are of
course countless tasks awaiting volunteers
who likewise have a particular skill or a
talent.You don’t need any formal training
or if you want to gain a new vocation,
don’t worry we can soon teach you!
Those with a knack for organisation
or administration would also be very
welcome, especially at our very popular
open days when the tasks (before, during
and after the event) are immense. If
you have ever wondered how a steam
locomotive works or what the engine
compartment of a diesel locomotive looks
like, now is the time to learn a new skill
and satisfy your curiosity at the same time.
The minimum fee was £10 and you were
only limited in your ingenuity and the
means of transportation at your disposal!
Enter Roland Hoggard, a train driver based
at St. Pancras and looking for a hobby
in his impending retirement. Roland was
someone who liked a challenge, so he paid
his staff purchase order for a bargain £25,
scooped up the fragments of the clock
with the aid of a wheelbarrow and over
several train journeys, took the pieces
home in the brake van.
When St. Pancras was undergoing its
second restoration for Eurostar train
services in 2009, someone remembered
Roland Hoggard. Dent’s were still in
business and commissioned to produce
a replica clock, but the original design
drawings had been lost. However, they
discovered that Roland’s restoration of
the original clock had been completed to
full working order and incorporated into
the end wall of a barn on his property.
Measurements and photographs were
taken, even the numerals which were made
from slate were microscopically studied
to determine which quarry they originally
came from, so that authentic copies could
be made. The new 18 foot diameter dial is
There are always painting jobs to be done it
seems and the Permanent Way maintenance
team is never short of work. Just helping
out at open days, for example selling tickets
or explaining how the signal box works, are
jobs which don’t require you to get your
hands too dirty! If you have never tried
practical railway preservation before, just
come along one weekend to say hello. We
will happily show you around and explain
the type of work we do. Being a volunteer
can be enjoyable, you will hopefully make
new friends and perhaps gain a talent or a
skill at the same time. Give it a try!
Vignoles
37
Naturewatch
Activity on site started early this year: in
February Blackbirds and the odd Thrush
were heard singing around the site and the
first Robin of the year was seen. On the
20th of that month a pair of Little Owls
could be heard, one in the Roundhouse
and another somewhere up the yard.
Phil Hodgkiss returns with his
popular column looking at the
activities of some of the non-human
residents of the Roundhouse site.
Please can I start this column with
an apology and an appeal? Work
commitments mean that I have less
time than before to find the content for
Naturewatch, hence the non-appearance of
this column in the last Newsletter. Please
could I ask that anyone seeing anything of
interest reports it to myself, Mervyn or
Alexa so that I can include it in a future
edition? Thank you!
March next and in the middle of the
second week Buzzards were noted
several times around the top end of the
branch, presumably the same ones that
nested there last year. Several very early
butterflies were seen during the warmer
weather we had in March. Early one
morning, when letting our Class 20s out
38
of the main line connecting gate, I noted a
couple of Red Wings in the trees adjacent
to the gate. The last week of March proved
to be one with lots of sightings of Mallard.
Every day two to four birds were spotted
flying from over near the open land
adjacent to the brick works and heading
towards Brimington.
1st April saw several Peacock butterflies
around the preserved stock in the main
yard, Skylark hovering and singing over
the upper car parking field and Blackbird
mating within the trees beside the running
line.
days leading up to the Easter break saw
several sightings of Great Tit, Blue Tit,
Chaffinch and a single Bull Finch all up and
around the main line connecting gate. The
Buzzards were again displaying their flying
capabilities around the top yard, this time
on the warm day. of April. On the same
day several flights of ducks were also seen
over the redundant brick works, seemingly
doing circuits before heading in an Easterly
direction. (With all the bird sightings maybe
we should re-name this piece Bird Watch!)
On 3rd April, Dale reported two partridge
running across the lines near the lower
crossing and disappearing below the
electric loco 89001. On the morning of
the 11th at least one Swallow was spied
high above the garden road area, the first
of the year! 7.30am on the 14th and a pair
of Skylarks were in full song just above
the workshop roof and again later in the
morning further up the main yard.
An influx of butterflies in the last week of
April made a colourful sight amongst the
nettles behind the Deltic shed: Peacock,
Red Admiral, Common White and a single
Orange Tip all being noted within a thirty
minute time slot. The last day of the month
found an addition to the butterflies in the
form of a Painted Lady sat on one of the
mats in the corridor to the mess room;
it was later rescued from the mess room
windows.
The start of May saw a young Blackbird
being fed copious amounts of bugs and
worms in the upper compound. On
2nd May I spotted an unusual Butterfly
The 15th saw a Heron passing over the
Gun Club crossing even though there
aren’t many fish around here! The few
39
naturewatch
continued...
- a Walled Brown. I think this may be
a first for the site. This butterfly has a
range of Southern & Central Europe
and Scandinavia, its food plant is coarse
grasses and it is around 23mm in size. A
Grey Legged Partridge was once again in
the area having been noted several times
around the main line connection and down
close to the HNRC shed. On May 14th
the Partridge was once again seen up near
the compound gates, this time with a mate.
It was first seen swimming around in a
bucket of water within the HNRC depot
and rescued to be left outside. This sinister
looking wasp, also known as a Saw Fly or
Wood Wasp, is 30-50mm in length, mainly
black with orange legs and abdomen with
what looks like a very long sting protruding
from the same. In fact it is a sting look
alike used for boring holes into wood to
lay its eggs.You may well find one in your
own homes as the eggs laid can emerge
in new timbers of houses for some time
afterwards.
On 15th May, whilst waiting at the Gun
Club Crossing gates during a shunt move, it
was amazing to see the abundance of bird
life that is evident around Barrow Hill. In
a ten minute period I saw a pair of Gold
Finch, Tree Sparrows, Robin, Starling, Blue
and Great Tits, Sparrow Hawk, Crow, a
single Pied Wagtail, Collard Dove, Pigeon
and the odd Mallard Duck. Not for the
squeamish perhaps but there were lots of
spiders crawling around the crossing cabin
and lots of Ladybirds too.
Arriving at Barrow Hill on 17th June at
around 6.45am I saw a fox wandering up
the drive; it stopped and turned to look
at me then calmly walked away through
the fence panels disappearing behind the
containers.
Now I think it is safe to say that everyone
has seen a Magpie during their life but how
many of you have seen a Magpie Moth? I
am one that had not until late June when
this species was spotted up the branch
sunning itself in the soil.
At around 9.30pm on 21st May Don
Cambridge reported seeing the Little
Owl exiting the Roundhouse via one of
the roof vents but only venturing as far as
the brick pile behind the mess room. On
the morning of 26th at around 5.20am,
while attending to Class 20s prior to
their departure for Derby, I heard two
Chiffchaffs in and around the exit gates
area. I managed to see one of them but
the other eluded me. Also evident were
Yellowhammers, maybe three, and a single
Linnet.
My first thought was what a beautiful
butterfly, only later discovering through
searching books that it is a moth, orangey
in body colour with black flashes in its
wings but mainly it is white, a lovely sight.
Keep a look out for this moth and if you
do see one admire the colours.
Phil Hodgkiss
An interesting find on 12th June was a
Horntail, a member of the wasp order.
40
A fun day was had by all at the Roundhouse
Open Days at the end of June.
Photos: Alexa Stott
Top: Dave Darwin brings the 03 to a halt by the signal box during
the Roundhouse Open Days.
Bottom: D213 on display in the Garden at the same event.
Photos: Alexa Stott